Stephen Colbert

Biography

Emmy and Peabody Award-winning host Stephen Colbert took over as host of CBS’s THE LATE SHOW on September 8, 2015. Best known for his Comedy Central show, “The Colbert Report,” Colbert is also a best-selling author and accomplished actor, writer, producer and comedian.

For the second year in a row, THE LATE SHOW has earned Emmy Nominations for Outstanding Variety Talk Series, Outstanding Writing for a Variety Series and Outstanding Directing for a Variety Series. In 2017, Colbert hosted the Emmy ceremony and also received three nominations for the live election night special which aired on SHOWTIME.

From its debut, “The Colbert Report” was a critical and cultural success, winning two Peabody Awards and earning 37 Emmy Award nominations. The series won the Emmy for Outstanding Writing for a Variety, Music or Comedy Program in 2008, 2010, 2013 and 2014. Prior to hosting “The Colbert Report,” Colbert spent eight years as the longest-tenured correspondent on “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart.” THE LATE SHOW has carried on this success, earning a nomination for a 2016 Writers Guild Award for Outstanding Comedy/Variety Talk Series.

Colbert began his career in television after graduating from Northwestern University and joining Chicago’s famed Second City improv troupe. It was there he met Amy Sedaris and Paul Dinello, with whom he created and starred in the half-hour sketch comedy series “Exit 57.” The trio went on to create the live-action narrative series and cult hit “Strangers with Candy.” Also, Colbert was a cast member and writer for the variety series “The Dana Carvey Show” and a writer for “Saturday Night Live.” His television acting credits include guest roles on “The Mindy Project,” “House of Cards,” “The Office,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm” and “Law and Order: Criminal Intent.” Colbert is the Executive Producer of OUR CARTOON PRESIDENT, the half-hour animated series centered on the Trump White House, which premiered February 11th, 2018.

A celebrated author, Colbert contributed to “America (The Book): A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction,” which topped “The New York Times” Bestseller List for 15 consecutive weeks. His first solo book, “I Am America (And So Can You!),” spent 29 weeks on “The New York Times” Bestseller List in 2007, debuting and occupying the #1 spot for 13 weeks. His second book, “America Again: Re-Becoming The Greatness We Never Weren’t,” released in October 2012, spent 17 consecutive weeks on “The New York Times” Bestseller List and earned him a Grammy Award in 2014 in the category of Best Spoken Word Album for the audiobook. In May 2012, Colbert released his first children’s book, “I Am A Pole (And So Can You!).” Also, he co-authored the critically acclaimed book “Wigfield.” In September 2017, Simon & Schuster (a division of CBS Corporation) released “Stephen Colbert’s Midnight Confessions,” a book and audio edition based on Colbert’s popular “Midnight Confessions” segment on THE LATE SHOW.

In 2010, Colbert received three Emmy Award nominations and won a Grammy Award for Best Comedy Album for “A Colbert Christmas: The Greatest Gift of All!,” the album from his one-hour musical holiday special on “The Colbert Report.” In 2011, Colbert starred as Harry in the New York Philharmonic’s presentation of Stephen Sondheim’s “Company.”

More than an entertainer, Colbert has drawn on his comedic talents to impact culture in extraordinary ways over the past decade. In 2011, he was granted permission by the Federal Election Committee to organize his own Political Action Committee, “Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow.” In 2009, “The Colbert Report” traveled to Iraq on a USO Tour titled “Operation Iraqi Stephen: Going Commando” to tape and perform shows in front of the troops, becoming the first television show in USO history to produce a full week of shows in a combat zone. In 2007, he launched a brief presidential bid but withdrew after being denied a place on the ballot of the South Carolina Democratic Party. The success of “The Colbert Report” has allowed Colbert to lend his name to things such as a Ben & Jerry’s ice cream flavor, Americone Dream; a Virgin America jet, Air Colbert; and a NASA treadmill called the Combined Operational Load Bearing External Resistance Treadmill (C.O.L.B.E.R.T.). Colbert Nation sponsored the U.S. Speed Skating team for the 2010 Olympics.

Raised in South Carolina, Colbert currently lives in New Jersey with his wife and three children. His birthday is May 13. Follow him on Twitter @StephenAtHome.